Loss and Grief Experiences of Mentors in Social Work Education

Abstract

Mentoring is an important process in educating competent professionals. However, little is known about mentors' experiences in social work higher education. Two social work educators reflect on 21 years of mentoring with over 60 social work students. Data are triangulated from the notes of two cross-interviews, separately prepared written descriptions of mentoring experiences, and the professional literature. The mentors identify loss and grief experiences, particularly those that take place during the separation and redefinition phases of the mentoring relationships (Kram, 1983). Especially if future research supports the finding of this study, social work education administrators and faculty need to recognize, acknowledge, and ameliorate potential loss and grief experiences of mentors.

Toward Mentoring in Palliative Social Work: A Narrative Review of Mentoring Programs in Social Work

“…16 Grant and colleagues argue that nurturing mentoring relationships enhance emotional competence, resilience, and aid in improving career satisfaction through the provision of personalized support. [17][18][19] Serial staff shortages, rapid staff turnover, poor recruitment, staff burnout and compassion fatigue, poor career satisfaction, and progression continue to plague medical social work. 2,4,20 Data suggest that a lack of personal, career, academic, clinical, and research support lie at the heart of these problems.…”

“…Only Riebschleger and colleagues discussed long-term outcomes of mentoring in the perspective articles. 18,19 Seven themes were identified including (1) mentoring process, (2) characteristics of mentoring relationships, (3) the mentor, (4) the mentee, (5) organization and stakeholders, (6) barriers to mentoring, and (7) mentoring outcomes. Each theme will be addressed in turn.…”

“…Mentoring relationships in informal mentoring were usually initiated by previous positive interactions between mentors and mentees. 18 The lack of data on informal mentoring is attributed to the nature of the process itself. A lack of a preset structure makes it difficult to scrutinize the mentoring process and its outcomes.…”

“…However, these programs benefit from voluntary processes inspired by previous interactions between mentor and mentee. 18 Formation of spontaneous ties eliminates the challenges of finding a successful match. 18 The positive outcomes described in informal mentoring emphasize the importance of interpersonal factors and its role in the success of mentoring relationships.…”

Mentoring as an Induction Tool in Special Education Administration

“…Thirty years after the publication of the foundational work of Kram (1983Kram ( , 1985 many researchers continue to use her theoretical lens to examine the role of mentoring in the induction and early career development of protégés in a great variety of professional fields (Chao, 1997;Lee & del Carmen Montiel, 2011;Riebschleger & Cross, 2011;Rikard & Banville, 2010;Stokes, 2003;Sugimoto, 2012). Kram's delineation of mentoring into four phases and nine functions has provided a framework through which the efficacy of both formal and informal mentoring relationships can be examined.…”